【 Dormant Dragon Institute – 1st-Year Rebecca: “That won’t be necessary. These days, even corpses can talk.” 】
【 Maid Heart: “......!” 】
【 Dormant Dragon Institute – 1st-Year Rebecca: “But I am curious. What curses did I place on my veil?” 】
I watched from behind a tree, just outside the effective range of the 【Script】.
Even the aftermath.
I wasn’t trying to judge anything. I just confirmed that my choice not to join the Dormant Dragon Institute had been the correct one.
┃ Relationship Increase: Rebecca [2] (▲2)
┃ Reward: Star Fragments ×2
Not a bad reward.
< Star Fragments Owned: 12 >
They were stacking up nicely.
I decided to head home for now.
Then a thought occurred to me.
‘Do they cremate the corpses after the funeral?’
This needed consideration. Cursed corpses often cause problems. Rebecca had supposedly attended funerals every week for the entire first semester. If roughly twenty people died each week in Zone 0, then even by a rough count, there’d be around six hundred coffins. If those corpses—laced with high-level curses strong enough to fool clerics—weren’t cremated, then serious trouble could follow.
So I returned to the cathedral.
‘There it is.’
Luck was on my side. I spotted a coffin being loaded onto a wagon. I slipped into the grieving crowd and followed along. Dusk was falling. After a while, the wagon broke off from the crowd and headed toward a cemetery.
Except it wasn’t a cemetery.
A sign indicated the actual graveyard was two kilometers further ahead.
For context, Hiaka Academy is located in a satellite city near the capital with a population of around 300,000. Zone 0 of the Assassination Department alone only has about 4,000 cadets, but over 40,000 permanent residents. The whole place feels more like a city than a campus.
Still.
Why were they burying corpses in a vacant lot?
After the mourners left, I approached one of the workers and asked.
“Well... we used to use the main cemetery, but weird things started happening there earlier this year.”
“Weird things?”
“I’m not entirely sure myself... but I heard monsters started showing up.”
Inside the academy?
“And the department just left it alone?”
“Uh, I wouldn’t know about that...”
The man shrank back, probably because I looked too much like an assassin. Then a senior worker came over and asked what was going on. The junior explained, and the older one nodded.
“Oh, you mean the Starfall Hill cemetery? Yeah, something’s wrong with the space itself.”
“Space? I thought you said monsters.”
“There’s some strange monster living inside that warped space. The department head and a few senior professors went there, and apparently, they decided to just leave it alone. Instead, they moved the burials outside.”
Unusual.
Then the senior worker leaned in and whispered.
“They say there’s a witch living there.”
“A witch?”
“Yeah! But strangely enough, she never comes out, and she doesn’t kill anyone. That’s why they chose to leave her alone.”
He looked pleased with himself, like he was sharing rare insider gossip. No one really knew what the witch was. Some said she was a beast, not a person. A student who went there on a dare got hurt. Even one of the senior professors who tried to confront her came back injured. That sort of rumor.
I tried to recall any witch-like undead that appear near graves. Three types came to mind, all monsters that only spawn in dungeons.
But Hiaka Academy is protected by the Blessing of Peace ☮, which prevents dungeons from forming.
“The Witch of the Graveyard, huh...”
That made it even stranger. And if she appeared at the beginning of the year, that would line up with Rebecca’s enrollment.
I decided to check it out myself.
So I summoned Adele, gave her a rough explanation, and got into the car headed for Starfall Hill.
Adele looked confused.
“Starfall Hill is a restricted zone, though.”
“If anyone ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) asks, say I went for research.”
“Hmm... If the witch turns out hostile, are you going to assassinate her?”
I didn’t know.
That’s why I was going. Because I didn’t know.
I’m a veteran of this game.
There’s almost nothing I don’t know.
Of course, I’m not familiar with characters added in the [DLC], like Kaiser or Elize. But I know every detail about the events Kaiser mentioned—like founding the assassination corps or assassinating the emperor. And as for Elize’s family, the House of Count Xykhos, I know it inside and out.
Now that <Synchronization> has converted my in-game knowledge into real-world knowledge, I’m expected to understand every basic mechanic in this world.
But there’s something I don’t know.
At Starfall Hill—
“Mmm~ We’re almost there,” Adele said, humming.
Just then, I saw something on the [Minimap]: red dots.
A lot of them.
They were moving toward the road ahead.
If the red dots don’t represent hostile humans, then they always mean monsters.
“Adele. Stop the car here.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Looks like there are monsters. I’ll go on foot. You drive faster and draw them away.”
“O-Okay.”
I got out and headed up the mountain path.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Car] 』
I created an illusion of the car continuing on its way. As it moved forward, the red dots began following it.
‘I don’t know any stealth skills...’
That’s why I dumped a thousand points into [Illusion].
Because it lets me handle any situation.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Black Dome] 』
『 World Forgery: Phenomenon Forgery [Forest Scent] 』
I erased my form and scent, then hid inside a black dome with only a narrow view to the outside. In the distance, monsters sprinted after the car like animals.
Their identity was clear.
● Ghouls
Undead born from cursed graves, growing stronger by feeding on corpses.
‘This is happening because of Rebecca’s curses.’
Highly likely.
They probably lie hidden underground when people are nearby, then emerge once the coast is clear to find new graves and fresh meat.
‘The ghouls followed the car, so...’
At that moment, a new red dot appeared on the [Minimap].
Right behind me.
— Krrrrk...
I turned and nearly screamed.
It was nearly two meters tall. Its grotesque body was hunched, its spine exposed along its twisted back. The monster lifted its head.
A [Natural Summon].
An undead creature spawned by absorbing ambient curses.
Of all places, it had to be right behind me?
— Krrrk...
I held my breath.
It had to be hungry, having just been born.
But thanks to [Black Dome] and [Forest Scent], it couldn’t find me.
— Krrr...rrrrk...
Still, it seemed to sense the presence of soft, tender human flesh. It continued to circle the area, searching.
But then I remembered—there was no reason to panic.
I’d prepared for this exact situation.
‘Deploy Crusade.’
『 World Forgery: Phenomenon Forgery [Holy Radiance] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Priest] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Inquisitor] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Paladin] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Saint] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Angel] 』
⋮
Sacred light split the sky. One after another, divine figures materialized like a miracle.
First came the priest, radiating pure light. Then the inquisitor with twin cruel blades. After that, a paladin whose armor and shield shone with holiness.
Next, a saint. Then an angel—an immense being made of hundreds of shifting, blinking eyes. All of them descended upon the earth.
Startled, the ghoul straightened its back and darted behind a tree, pretending to be part of the forest.
“Huh? It’s a ghoul!”
— Krhk? (How did they know?)
“It’s running! Get it!”
“Catch that bastard!!”
And just like that, the illusionary adult Crusaders charged in from all sides, chasing off the poor baby ghoul...
‘The path’s clear now.’
At last, I climbed the ridge in safety.
And in the clearing at the center of the ridge, I found the graveyard.
Beyond that, I discovered what the worker had called the “distorted space.”
I knew instantly.
It was unmistakably wrong.
‘...What the hell is that?’
At the center of the graveyard sat a pitch-black sphere.
It was night, so visibility was poor—but when I crouched and used the stars as a backdrop, I saw it clearly.
A massive black orb, absorbing light.
Like a third of a black hole buried in the earth.
‘...’
It wasn’t a dungeon.
It wasn’t magic, or some supernatural phenomenon.
It wasn’t even a [Curse].
Not even a status window popped up.
‘What... is that?’
I stepped closer and tried to estimate its size.
It was enormous—easily large enough to engulf an entire mountain peak.
By rough calculation, its diameter had to be at least 1,000 meters.
Could I enter?
As I cautiously reached out to touch the black surface, a message suddenly popped up.
───
⧉ Tip: This is a [Glitched Space]. This area is currently experiencing a system error and will be patched in a future update. Details will be provided once a schedule is determined.
───
That... was unexpected.
I’d thought it might be something I just didn’t know about.
‘A bug? An update?’
Of course I knew this was a game world.
But hearing words like “bug” and “update” thrown in—it felt like something out of a real-world patch note.
‘Ah. My hand’s inside it...’
While I was thinking that, I noticed one of my hands had already slipped inside the black sphere—this so-called [Glitched Space].
I pulled it out.
No resistance.
So I carefully leaned my head in.
Still no issue.
Inside the [Glitched Space], the graveyard continued as if nothing was wrong.
‘So the black orb’s just marking the boundary.’
I stepped forward, slowly.
And began climbing the hill.
Along the way, I saw something strange. I conjured 『Light Source』 to inspect it—and found the shattered remains of weapons.
‘They said there had been several suppression attempts.’
Before the area was sealed off, faculty heads and even senior professors had come here—only to be crushed.
The Head of the Assassination Department, Shaman Kreutz, is a [Challenger]-rank assassin. One of the strongest in the kingdom.
Compared to him, even the top cadets of the Dormant Dragon Institute would be dead within a minute in a 1 vs. 7 scenario.
‘Even he couldn’t defeat her, and chose to leave her alone.’
And yet, the witch never killed anyone.
Sometimes, she even avoided confrontation altogether.
Why would she back off?
That creature up ahead—
Right in front of me.
Roughly 20 meters ahead, sitting atop a massive grave unlike the others.
Something was hunched there beneath a tattered rag, its back to the moonlight.
It looked human—fitting of someone called a witch.
As I approached, the figure slowly turned toward me, and I stopped at a safe distance.
“...”
“...”
I could see why some called her a monster.
She didn’t feel human.
It was the same sense of unease as when you meet an unfamiliar bird of prey—
an animal instinct warning of danger.
From within the shadows, two blue eyes stared at me from beneath her hood.
Strangely, my mind recalled how you lower your guard when meeting a stray dog.
I slowly crouched down at an angle, keeping my movements relaxed.
I was giving her time to assess me.
Meanwhile, I checked her name tag.
● Eve 『Curse of Forgetting』
The name was Eve.
I’d never seen her before.
That meant she must be a [DLC] character.
Next to her name was a tag: 『Curse of Forgetting』.
A curse that erases one from the memories of the world and its people—
a high-level [Curse] that only upper-class demons could cast.
‘That’s why the information on her is so vague.’
I could see her chin and lips beneath the hood.
Even her ankles and pale bare feet were exposed under her robe.
And yet, nowhere did it confirm she was “human.”
Those who remembered fragments of her must have settled on the word “witch.”
Eve began walking toward me.
She descended from the large grave, slow and steady.
It was a little unnerving, given the late hour.
Still, I waited.
And when she got close enough, my 『Light Source』 slightly illuminated her face.
To my surprise, I saw the face of a woman in her early twenties.
It reminded me of the first time I saw Rebecca.
Strikingly beautiful, almost absurdly so.
Long sky-blue hair, eyes like a clear lake, a pale face untouched by dirt or shadow.
But now wasn’t the time to be admiring her beauty.
For a moment, I had a hallucination—a massive monster towering over me, staring down.
The feeling of sinking into a pit of sapphire-colored mire.
Eve slowly crouched in front of me.
Then lifted her head to study me.
As if examining something.
Our eye levels were now even.
I wanted to check her Potential.
I needed contact.
But I wasn’t sure if it was safe to move yet.
For some reason, not even her 【Script】 appeared.
I slowly reached out my hand, palm open. If I touched the hem of her robe, I could read her status.
Eve tilted her head, then gently stopped my hand with hers.
As if telling me not to touch.
Then she withdrew her hand, closing it slightly—clearly expressing her dislike for contact.
But that alone was enough.
───
Eve Lemontree [3.0]
───
...An astonishing number appeared.